Monday, August 4, 2003

County meeting set opposite RCDC Town Hall

By SMOKEY BRIGGS
and ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mon., Aug. 4, 2003 -- The town hall meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. this
evening to discuss recent developments at Reeves County Detention Center
will take place as planned, Pecos Chamber of Commerce Executive Director
Linda Gholson said, despite an emergency meeting of the Reeves County Commissioners
Court, called by County Judge Jimmy Galindo for 6 p.m. today at a different
location.

The county is seeking inmates to fill up the 960-bed facility, after the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons refused to provide more inmates, to go along with
the 2,000 currently housed at RCDC I and II. Funds from housing the inmates
were to be used to meet bond payments on the $40 million facility, which
was completed in March and has its first bond payment due on Sept. 1.

Since RCDC is a county project, Galindo would be the best source of information
on the recent problems.

"A town hall meeting was recommended by the county's Washington, D.C.
legal counsel Joe Summerhiel, " Gholson said. "I was surprised when Judge
Galindo's court did not schedule such a meeting during the regular county
commissioner's meeting last Monday. When they did not I mentioned it and
all of the commissioners and the judge agreed to attend and tell our citizens
exactly what is going on."

Gholson said that this morning Galindo called her office at 8:40 a.m.
to inform her that he was moving the meeting to the courthouse.

"He said he was going to post an agenda for the emergency meeting to be
held at the courthouse because it is community business and it needs to be
at a community building," she said.

"He also said that the meeting was just going to be a circus, and I still
do not understand what he meant by that."

Items due to be covered in the "Special Emergency" meeting in the third
floor courtroom at the Reeves County Courthouse include discussion and possible
action on the Federal Bureau of Prisons Intergovernmental Agreement Modification
#7 and the man day rate adjustment to $47.33.

A public comments session will follow these discussions, and five-minute
presentations will be done at this time.

Commissioners also will discuss potential options for use of the RCDC
III: present formal proposal to Bureau of Prisons, follow-up on U.S. Department
of Homeland Security Contract, continue to acquire United States Marshal
prisoners and pursue State of Arizona prisoners.

Gholson said that she had contacted both Pecos Police Chief Clay McKinney
and Reeves County Sheriff Andy Gomez and that both had promised to have
officers on hand at the civic center to remove any citizens who were disorderly.

Gholson said that the planned meeting would be orderly.

"There will be a time limit for each person to speak and we ask everyone
to refrain from abusive language and that there be no outbursts. Anyone who
does not abide by the rules will be removed," Gholson said.

Gholson said that the legality of the town hall meeting had been questioned.

"There was a question about whether such a meeting would violate the
Open Meetings Act, since a quorum of the commissioners court would be present
at a meeting that was not posted," she said.

Gholson said that she had spoken with John Fuller, an attorney for county
affairs with the state attorney general's office and that Fuller had assured
her that as long as the meeting was an informational meeting that it did
not violate the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Gholson also said that she had spoken with Precinct 3 Commissioner Herman
Tarin, and that he was planning on attending the meeting.

"There will be a town hall meeting tonight at 6 p.m. and all citizens
of the area are invited to attend," Gholson said.

Cousin of fallen soldier returns home

By JENNIFER GALVAN
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mon., Aug. 4, 2003 -- The Town of Pecos City continues to welcome
home local heroes as they come in from serving this country in Iraq Friday
afternoon.

The Pecos Police Department and Reeves County Deputies escorted United
States Marine Corp, LCPL Steven Marruffo, 20, family and friends brought
him into town, after his deployment to Kuwait during the recent war in Iraq.

Marruffo said that he wasn't in the area where the most serious fighting
occurred while stationed mostly in Kuwait, which served as a southern staging
area for U.S. troops bound for Iraq. But he added there were some nervous
moments.

"I wasn't in any danger but there were a couple of scares several times,"
Marruffo said. "But we got through it."

Marruffo is the cousin of Ruben Estrella-Soto a member of the 507th Maintenance
Company from Fort Bliss, who died when the convoy he was riding in was ambushed
on March 23 in southern Iraq. Estrella-Soto's father lived in Pecos for
10 years and he still has family members in the area, including Marruffo.

In reference to the two fallen soldiers with Pecos ties, one being his
cousin, Marruffo said that he did not know anything right away.

"I actually found out through a magazine this guy was reading," Marruffo
said. "He asked me if I knew this guy (Johnny Mata) from Pecos." Mata also
was killed in the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company.

He said he then read the article and saw his cousin's name, his Gunny
then asked him if he knew him. Marruffo then responded that it was his cousin
and at that point he was given permission to call home.

"I tried my best not to think about it," Marruffo said about the loss
of his cousin. "If you think about it, it just makes the day longer."

Marruffo said that what got him through his deployment was just taking
things one day at a time.

"I did not find out I was being deployed till the day before I was deployed,"
he said.

His deployment consisted of six months total, with one month in Iraq
and five in Kuwait.

"I did my job," Marruffo said. "We went out there and we did what we
had to do."

Marruffo's job is in embarcation.

"That means when we deploy I load all the equipment that is needed,"
Marruffo said. "And I separate it when we land."

In order to keep their spirits up, he added that they would find anything
to do such as travel to other military camps for entertainment.

"We would go to the Army camps because they had better stuff," Marruffo
said. "They didn't like that much."

Receiving mail also helped raise their spirits, Marruffo said.

As for returning back home, he said that it felt good to be back.

"The best part of being back home is seeing everybody again," Marruffo
said. "And eating the food."

He added that he was not expecting all the new media when he arrived.

"I was only expecting my mom and dad to be there," Marruffo said. However,
to his surprise KWES Ch. 9 also was there to record his return home.

When he arrived in Pecos not only were two Pecos Police officers and
three Reeves County deputies waiting for Marruffo, so was his little nephew,
Rey Anthony Muniz.

Muniz said that he was happy that his uncle was home and could not wait
to play with him.

"We are going to play whatever he wants to play," Marruffo said. "He's
the best tio (uncle) and he's also the tallest."

Marruffo, a 2001 Pecos High School graduate, joined the Marines because
for him it was something he always wanted to do.

Marruffo is not the only member in the family in the military, his older
brother, Jesus, is a member of the United States Army.

"He was not deployed," Marruffo said. "He was actually going to join
the Marines but the Army took him first."

Stationed at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base north of San Diego, Marruffo
said that he would be returning to the base on August 18.

He is he son of Israel and Hortencia Marruffo. Marruffo has two brothers
Jesus, Joe Anthony Marruffo, three sisters, Dianna Muniz, Veronica and Olivia
Marruffo and two nephews, Rey Anthony Muniz and Aaron Shae Mendoza.

Estrella-Soto was returned to El Paso for burial in April, while Mata
was buried in Pecos. Other soldiers that have returned from deployment were
Eddie Lujan, Adam Seijas, Mark Abila and Mario Villescas.

Several hours before Marruffo was escorted into Pecos, by local law officials,
Nathan Lujan was also welcomed home with an escort.